Diversity and Culturally-Responsive Philanthropy

New graduate course examines diversity from a cultural perspective

Course Overview

PHST P530-Spring 2017

Thursday, 6- 8:40 p.m.

Instructor: Michael Twyman

This graduate-level course will cover giving traditions of various ethnic groups and examine current practices in the philanthropic field through a culturally-responsive lens. A deep dive into the histories of these groups and their struggles for representation, validation, and justice will undergird our journey through relevant literature and scholarly works.

Objectives...

Develop and expand upon one's self-awareness and understanding of diverse populations to become more professionally proficient.

Explore what are the foundational values about the field of philanthropy that can guide culturally-responsive practice.

Examine relevant theories and pedagogical frameworks that help to inform an appreciation of diverse populations and communities.

Increase one’s knowledge base and refine skills that lead to effective professional practice and demonstrate a high regard for fairness, equity and integrity.

Embrace diversity as a gift in and of itself and build upon the strengths it brings and offers to the world of philanthropy.

Seek to explore and answer some of these critical questions and more...

What are the origins of philanthropy and how did it become institutionalized?

Why is diversity often equated to racial diversity exclusively?

What is diversity, and what is its relationship to philanthropy?

How has the philanthropic field evolved to embracing diversity, or has it?

Evolution of philanthropy

Course Section 1:
Focus on various civilizations and their unique contributions to human history, origins and evolution of philanthropy, and theoretical concepts

Dr. Michael R. Twyman, Ph.D.

Dr. Twyman is the executive director of OpportunINDY, a Collective Impact initiative that aims to improve the life outcomes of young black men in Indianapolis. Before recently returning to his hometown, he served as the director of the Institute on Race and Ethnicity at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he taught a course on race and racism in America.

Twyman was the founding director of grant programs in Indiana for the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. He has an extensive career in philanthropic and nonprofit management, and served as a special assistant to Mayor Stephen Goldsmith for the City of Indianapolis, as well as vice president of Community Action of Greater Indianapolis. He has also worked in the private sector as an independent consultant in community and economic development.